Lecture 8: Reading for the plot – five simple words.

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1. What do the words beginning, middle, end, plot and story mean?
It's what happens to the characters and what happens to us as a result. It's all of
that and more. For plot is where almost everything comes together. Plot is what
hooks us at the beginning—and keeps us reading through to the end.
2. Comment on Aristotle’s points from Poetics: (тут просто наше
личное мнение)
A plot is not unified simply because it relates the experiences of a single
person.
In writing the Odyssey, Aristotle explains, Homer did not include
everything that ever happened to Odysseus. Instead, he was selective. He did
some picking and choosing.
In a good plot, a well-made plot, nothing can be eliminated. Each new event
should happen because of the earlier events.
and nothing can be transposed or rearranged, either! So, if you find that
you can eliminate a scene, or reorder a couple of scenes, you're dealing with a
defective plot.
Both of those points might come in handy the next time you're at the
movies. What if this scene were cut—or shifted to another part of the film?
Would anyone ever notice the difference? If not, you may want to ask for your
money back.
3. What is the difference between these two narratives:
The king died and then the queen died. The king died and the queen died of
grief.
According to Forster—and here he's being very Aristotelian—the first
narrative is not really a plot at all. It's merely a series of events, one after
another. Why does the second narrative qualify as a plot? Because it connects
the two events, identifying the first (the death of the king) as the cause of the
second (the death of the queen).
4. How do you understand “What is wrong?” story and “What is next?”
story in connection with Aristotle’s episodic plots.
Behind all of Aristotle's points, we can discover a disdain for "episodic
plots." Those are plots in which scenes or episodes are not arranged so much as
strung together. Remember what we said about "one darn thing after another"?
That's what an episodic plot is like.
The example is the story "A Temporary Matter" by Jhumpa Lahiri. At
which point should we give the information about the death of the baby?
Writers who give us a "what's wrong?" story show us the sad young couple and
make us guess at the reasons for their trouble. Lahiri is going for something a
little different. She also shows us the sad, young couple. Indeed, after letting us
in on the death of their baby, she takes us back to the present, closing with a
long paragraph on their growing estrangement.
Yet instead of encouraging us to ask "why?" or "what's wrong?" she
makes us ask "what's next?" What can these people do to reestablish some
emotional connection with each other? Is it too late for them, or will something
happen to bring them back together again?
So, if you want a "what next?" story, instead of a "what's wrong?" story—
and Lahiri does—you have to mention the baby's death sooner rather than later.
If you move or shift it to another part of the story, you run the risk of making
lots and lots of trouble for yourself. This is the sort of thing that Aristotle helps
us to see—and, really, not just to see, but appreciate and enjoy.
5. How do “beginnings” work? What is called ‘a destabilizing event”?
Give an example from the book you are reading.
At the beginning, we're introduced to the characters and their situation—
which, at this point, is relatively stable.
6. How does the lecturer define “the middle”?
the middle is where complications arise. As we move through the middle,
we get a better sense of what the characters are up against, and more often than
not, we realize that things may get worse—and maybe a whole lot worse—
before they get any better.
7. What is ‘the ending”? How can plots be resolved?
The ending, well, that's where things get resolved. It's where the conflicts
exposed at the beginning—and clarified and deepened through the middle—are
finally worked out. Traditionally, as you may know, plots resolved themselves
in one of two ways. In a comic ending, you might witness scenes of
reconciliation, marriage, birth, or rebirth. In a tragic ending, you would have to
witness scenes of dissolution, exile, and death.
Since the end of the 19th century, writers have been drawn to the idea of
an open ending. We saw this kind of thing in Chekhov—and again in Flannery
O'Connor and Katherine Mansfield. An open ending may leave some questions
unanswered. It may even leave the characters on the verge of some really
important decision.
8. What makes for a really good beginning? Are there any short
stories or novels that have grabbed you right from the start? If so, what do
those works have in common?
ну тут уже личный читательский опыт
9. What makes for a good ending? It has been said that the ending is the
hardest part of a story to get right. Do you agree? Can you think of works
with strong beginnings, interesting middles – and weak or disappointing
endings?
также личные примеры
10. How are the notions “plot” and “story” regarded in the lecture?
Give your own examples to differentiate them.
Plot is the list of events in the order of their presentation to the reader.
Story is the same events, now listed in chronological order, the order of their
original occurrence. There's no reason why the two lists have to be different, by
the way. There's certainly no rule against the exact alignment of plot and story +
личные примеры